Greater Than Natural Laws
by Yanagi Uxinta
Summary: In the aftermath of the enclave, Rashel and Quinn are left to pick up the pieces. During their second meeting with Thierry, all the lies Hunter told come out - including those he told Timmy. One in particular stands out, and is something Rashel is determined to correct: 'Your mother never cared about you.'
1. Chapter 1

Hey all!

Got a serious one for you this time. This idea popped into my head on my latest re-read of _The Chosen_ , and wouldn't leave. Since NaNo's on and I'm rattling though it with a mix of Night World fan fiction and my attempt at adapting _The Chosen_ into a movie script, I figured I'd throw this in as well. I reference one of the _Snatches of Daylight_ drabbles in this, the Ash P.O.V. one, and we get a bit of an expansion on it.

This will be a multi-chapter story, but I've got the whole thing done already - I just need to edit the other chapters first, so they'll be out over the next few days I imagine.

I will put a **WARNING** in this - it does deal with the very real pain of having a child go missing/be presumed dead, despite the supernatural twist. I only hope I've treated the situation with the respect it deserves, as upsetting any of my readers is the last thing I want to do.

That said, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

'Lord Thierry will be here in a moment,' Nilsson said, ushering the three of them into what Rashel guessed was a parlour. She still hadn't memorised the layout of the mansion yet, and she'd been here two days. Admittedly, most of that had been spent lying on her stomach in bed, while the witches carefully repaired her back.

Quinn knew his way around the place better than she did, though he hadn't been in the house for a few decades. Apparently they'd moved a few rooms around, extended the house and redecorated.

Surprisingly it was Timmy who was most at home here. They'd kept him mostly out of sight for the past two days, despite his insistence that he knew the place and the people in it. Nilsson certainly recognised him, and one of the various assistants had found some paper and felt tip pens for Timmy to draw with. The pens had made Rashel's lips twitch. No colouring pencils in this house.

Timmy flopped down on the edge of the sofa and leaned over the coffee table, already scribbling away as Rashel and Quinn sat either side of him and Nilsson closed the door behind him. They'd seen Thierry alone briefly when they first arrived, to debrief him on their general situation. He'd had to leave soon after for some meeting or another, but they had arranged for a proper discussion today when he had a few hours free. This time Timmy had insisted on coming along.

It was only a couple of minutes before Thierry arrived. Rashel's only warning was the deliberately noisy way the door opened behind them; the latch catching in the door frame slightly. Possibly Thierry trying to make her comfortable, since he was soundless when he walked. Either way, it made her feel a bit more at ease as she and Quinn turned to greet him. It was still nerve-wracking, being in the same room as the second-oldest vampire in existence. A week ago, every nerve in Rashel's body would have been screaming for her to stake him. Now they were more a discontented grumble. Old habits and all.

Thierry closed the door behind himself before heading for the second sofa facing theirs. 'I apologise for being late. Edgith Harman called-' he stopped, pausing at the end of the coffee table as he caught sight of Timmy, obscured until then by the couch back and Rashel. 'Timmy?'

Timmy looked up from his picture, smiling. 'Hi, Thierry.' Not Lord Thierry, Rashel noticed.

Thierry stared for a moment, processing. His dark eyes flickered up at herself and Quinn, putting the pieces of what they'd already told him together. Rashel hadn't mentioned Timmy's name; they'd both been worried Hunter had been keeping him as an illegal vampire. 'You were with Quinn and Rashel on the enclave?' He asked quietly, more for confirmation as he slowly took his seat. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands loosely clasped.

Timmy nodded, going back to his drawing. 'Hunter brought me. He said he was going to show me what life was like for him growing up. He said it was a holiday.' Timmy frowned, pressure increasing on his orange pen. 'Then that vermin set the house on fire.'

'Timmy,' Rashel said, his name a warning. Timmy glared at her, but bowed his head and sulkily went back to scribbling. She was trying to get him to stop calling humans vermin, but wasn't having much luck so far. Hunter really had indoctrinated him to the vampire way of thinking.

Thierry watched him with that calm, sad way of his. Then he turned to Rashel and Quinn. 'I know we didn't have much time when we last spoke. I didn't realise the little boy you mentioned was Timmy.'

'We assumed Hunter had kept him hidden here as an illegal vampire,' Quinn explained. 'All we knew was he'd been living in Vegas. I didn't think he'd been part of Night World society.'

Thierry shook his head. 'Timmy has been here for years now. He has attended quite a few functions here; even the Solstice Ceremony last year.'

'But how was he legal? Hunter didn't know him before the day he attacked, he couldn't have brought his case to the Council before turning him,' Quinn said.

Thierry bowed his head, grimacing. 'Hunter had come to us a few weeks earlier, seeking permission to change a human into a vampire. He said he wanted to expand his family... wanted a son again,' he said with an apologetic nod to Quinn.

Quinn shut his eyes, leaning back into the couch with a soft groan. 'This was what, eighty five? We'd had a falling out five years earlier. Didn't reconcile until six years ago.' He let out a harsh breath. 'Damn it.'

Rashel reached around Timmy's back to squeeze his hand. 'Hunter's been corrupt for years, we know that now. Do you really think he would have done anything different if you'd been getting on? It's not like he was looking for another heir to replace you,' she said, nodding slightly at Timmy. While he was eerily smart for his biological age, having the experience of a seventeen year old, he still had the mind and mentality of a four year old. Timmy could never lead anyone, nor take on any kind of adult responsibility.

Quinn sighed. 'No, but he might have ran it past me first. I might have talked him out of it.'

'And he might not have. Or he might have ignored you and done it anyway,' Rashel said firmly.

Quinn lifted a hand, silently conceding the point, and dropped it again. He looked up to Thierry again, gesturing for him to go on. 'Sorry for interrupting, my lord.'

Beside him, Timmy snorted with amusement. Quinn shot him an irritated glare.

Thierry nodded. 'We gave him strict conditions, as we always do. Creating new vampires is a heavily regulated process nowadays. Not like when you were turned,' he said with a glance at Quinn. 'The person he chose – he never specified that it would be a child, nor do I think he'd planned it that way – had to have no connections in their normal life. They couldn't be missed.'

That narrowed the prospective recipients dramatically, Rashel knew. Already you were down to transients and high-risk targets; people whose disappearance wouldn't be looked into by the police because they were almost expected to go missing.

'Second, they had to agree to join his family of their own free will – no influencing involved, and no breaking Night World law until they had already been turned.'

Quinn snorted. 'Ironic that he followed that rule back before it existed but not now,' he muttered.

Rashel was shaking her head. 'But that's wrong! Timmy had parents, family.' Beside her, Timmy stopped drawing. 'And Hunter lured him away using telepathy and probably trapped him by influencing him. That's what he tried to do to me.'

Quinn looked sharply at Thierry. Rashel could see his mind working. 'The Council usually requires evidence that their rules were followed, doesn't it? How did Hunter get around that?'

'He didn't,' Thierry said simply. 'He had evidence. Copies of crime scene photos of the boy's mother when she was murdered.'

Rashel rocked back in her seat, staring. 'That can't be right. His mom was _fine_ when we left for my birthday. His dad was in work. So unless Hunter went after them afterwards...'

Quinn reached across to briefly touch her elbow. 'Where were the photos taken?' He asked. 'Where did his mother die?' There was an odd, focused look in his eye – like he'd figured something out and wanted confirmation.

Thierry looked back, picking up on his mood. 'At a carnival. She was found in one of the tents-'

'With a broken neck,' Rashel said quietly, before leaning forward with a soft sigh of relief, raking a hand through her hair. 'That was my mom, not Timmy's. She had dark hair too.'

Quinn shook his head. 'Did the council not look further into it? News articles, interviewing the neighbours? Death certificates?'

Thierry's mouth was a grim line. 'They were supposed to. However, with the influence Hunter has on the Council, he could have convinced enough of the others to turn a blind eye, or not be as strenuous in their fact-checking as they normally would.' He sighed, opening his hands in a request for patience while he spoke. 'Hunter claimed that it was an emergency change; a mercy. He left Timmy in a safe location with Lily while he brought his case to us. He said the boy and his mother had been attacked and that she died. He said the boy was dying and had latched onto him for help and comfort, thus he fit the parameters we set out for him. From what research the Council did into the case, he was telling the truth.'

Rashel was stiff with fury. 'Oh, he was attacked alright. By Hunter. When I walked into that tent, he was feeding on him; had almost killed him. He dropped Timmy to stop me from running, and threw me back into the tent. I thought Timmy was _dead_ ; he was pale and limp and staring at the ceiling. Hunter must have fed him blood after I'd escaped to keep him alive.'

'So you did leave me,' Timmy said simply, not looking up from his paper. He was onto his second piece of paper, was scribbling with a brown pen now. Rashel couldn't see what he was drawing bar a glimpse of blue under his arm. She touched his shoulder, ready to draw back quickly should he react badly. Instead he looked up and turned to her, blue eyes steady.

There was nothing she could say but the truth. 'Yes, I did, because I didn't think there was anything I could do. I thought you and my mom were dead, and I knew I would be too if I stayed. I shouldn't have left you in the tubes, that was my fault, but I didn't have a choice in the tent.'

He watched her carefully, like he was weighing up her answer. 'You were strong, so you lived. The weak die.' He gave her a small smile. 'I died. Hunter told me I was strong, but I wasn't when I was ver- _human_.' He said it with a grimace of distaste. 'I didn't think humans could be strong.'

It was little speeches like that that threw Rashel completely. That reminded her Timmy was as old as she was, and had lived a harsher life than her. That he belonged to a species that lived by 'survival of the fittest' – with the vampires as the fittest, and the humans as prey. Yet had she said that on another day, Timmy might have thrown a tantrum befitting his physical age and shut her out completely again. There was no predicting who she was talking to at any given moment; the child, the adult or the raving animal.

At least the animal had teeth as a warning. The bite marks from the enclave had all but healed over.

Timmy turned back to Thierry while Rashel was still staring. 'Hunter wanted the made vampires to work with him. The bloodfeast was to get them on his side, show they were equals in the Night World. That's why he picked the Equinox. He knew the Council was weak, and wanted to make it strong again.'

Thierry's eyes narrowed. 'He wanted to overthrow the Council?'

Timmy shrugged. 'I don't think so. Just change it. The witches are too soft. The lamia are too lax with their laws. He wanted the Council to pay attention to the problems in the Night World. He wanted to fix it, and he needed people for that.'

Rashel, Quinn and Thierry exchanged glances over Timmy's head. That could be all Hunter was up to, but it sounded like something more. Something he wouldn't share with a child. Maybe Hunter _was_ planning a coup d'etat, and was quietly gathering a force to do so.

Either way, it was a good thing they had stopped the blood feast. Setting several of the vampires on fire was a bonus. They might be a bit leery of working with Hunter Redfern again after that.

'At least we know now,' Thierry said, diplomatically deciding not to comment otherwise. Timmy took that as permission to bow out of the conversation and went back to drawing, concentrating hard on his picture.

Quinn nodded then paused, head tilted in thought. 'You're both on the Council, and you're likely the only vampire more respected than Hunter on it. Is there anything you could do about him?'

Thierry grimaced. 'Without exposing myself as the leader of Circle Daybreak, or where I got my sources from? It's unlikely. If I made a formal accusation of Hunter breaking Night World law, I would have to prove it. This would involve bringing in witnesses, such as Rashel and the other girls... who would then have to be killed to uphold the law,' he said, frowning.

Rashel folded her arms, disgusted. 'This is why you have vampire hunters. The whole system is stacked in favour of the culprit. There's no way for the victims to win unless they _don't_ report it and take it into their own hands.'

Thierry nodded, hands raised in appeasement. 'It's a faulty system, I agree completely. However, it is in line with Night World law. If I suddenly started to campaign against it out of the blue, to make it more fair for human victims – what conclusions would the rest of the Council and Night World draw? They wouldn't stand for it. This is as much a political fight as a legal one. And unfortunately, I more than anyone am strangled by the red tape when I have to use official channels. That's part of the reason why I brought Circle Daybreak back.'

Quinn made a quick, almost impatient gesture. 'I understand all that. I've played my fair share of politics for Hunter, I know how big a pain it can be. But what if you had a Night World witness? What if I reported Hunter, and gave evidence against him?'

Thierry was shaking his head. 'Hunter's crime is a bloodfeast – that automatically indicates that humans are involved and aware of our existence. Even if you could tell the story without incriminating yourself or Rashel, the other girls would legally have to be put to death.' When Quinn's jaw worked as he tried to think of a way around it, Thierry went on softly, regretfully. 'And you would also have to explain your change of heart. You were initially a part of the bloodfeast, and only changed your mind late into the event. How would you explain to the elders that you suddenly had a crisis of conscience, without implicating Rashel?'

Quinn stopped grinding his teeth, looking over at his soulmate. Rashel grimaced in sympathy. She as much as anyone wanted a way to punish Hunter for what he'd done, but she couldn't see a way to do so through official means.

Quinn sighed, admitting defeat. 'I couldn't.' He reluctantly turned back to Thierry. 'So our best bet is to do nothing?'

Thierry gave a small, rare smile. 'Not quite. Hunter and I have always had... conflicting views on the Council. I can be a good politician and heckle him more than usual without anyone getting suspicious. It's only a small thing, but in the Joint Council my opinion can have quite a big impact. I can block most of Hunter's proposals if I want to. Edgith tends to agree with me, so between us we should be able to keep Hunter in check – officially, anyway.'

'And unofficially?' Quinn asked, interest piqued.

Rashel smiled. 'That could be our job.' Usually having two vampires focused on her would have her reaching for her sword and _zanshin_. Now she pushed down the instinctive bolt of adrenaline and continued steadily, glancing over at Quinn to get his agreement. 'I – we? - were thinking about this when we were on the boat.' Quinn's eyes brightened as he realised where she was going with this.

She fixed Thierry with a steady gaze, trying for both respect and reason. 'Circle Daybreak needs more than peace and healing. You need a fighting arm; someone to tackle the irredeemably bad members of Night World society. We might not be able to take on Hunter directly, but we can be spanners in the works. We can protect potential victims, get people out of danger. We might even be able to recruit people – I know a few vampire hunter groups who might be willing to listen. We can reach out to people who need help but don't know there's people out there that can support them.' The last was for anyone like the girls from the bloodfeast, or Nyala before the Lancers had found her. People who have encountered the Night World and somehow survived, but don't know how to handle it or where to go. People who might not _have_ anywhere else to go, like she had after Aunt Corinne had died.

It would be a hard job, and long, but rewarding. Something to work towards. They could make a difference.

Thierry was starting to smile. 'I think you're right. It's certainly something to consider, at least. I'll have to look at the practicalities of it, but I think it's something we need.'

Rashel nodded. She wasn't sure what 'practicalities' could mean beyond resources and the like – though she doubted money was an issue; this mansion was ridiculously big and extravagant. The job itself shouldn't be too different from her old days. Funny how they seemed so far away now, even though it had only been a matter of days. The main difference would be that she had Quinn with her.

She glanced over at her soulmate at the same time he looked at her and fought a smile – a losing battle. Odd, how many of those she was losing lately.

Then Timmy tugged at her short sleeve, a bit above the highest of the bites he'd given her. 'Rashel, I'm hungry.'

Oh. Oh, shit.

She plastered on a smile to mask the panic rising in her. She was not equipped for dealing with child vampires asking her where their next meal was coming from. 'Oh, okay,' she said, hoping her voice wasn't as high as she thought it was. 'Er-'

Then Quinn was standing and picking Timmy up, lifting him easily. 'Come on, you little con artist. Stop giving Rashel a heart attack. You know where the blood bank is.'

Where the...?

She looked up sharply, actually focusing on Timmy's face instead of his words. He was smiling, but not his usual, angelic smile. This one was a positive _smirk._

Rashel threw one of his pens at him.

Giggling, Timmy batted it away and docilely let Quinn carry him out while Rashel sat there and fumed.

Theirry gave a discreet cough – solely to get her attention, since vampires didn't cough unless something was choking them – and she tried to turn her mood down to a simmer.

'I keep forgetting he's seventeen,' she grumbled by way of explanation and apology.

Thierry smiled again, just a hint at the corner of his mouth. 'Quite understandable, all things considered.'

It was only then that it occurred to Rashel that she was in a room, alone, with a vampire that wasn't Quinn or trying to kill her (or both).

Suddenly feeling awkward, she mentally scrambled for something to say. "Thanks for not trying to bite me" wouldn't exactly go over well. She glanced down, eyes landing on Timmy's pictures, and her gaze stayed there, surprised.

They weren't the drawings of a four year old. They were no masterpieces, certainly, but she hadn't known you could get such detail and finesse out of felt-tips. The first, most striking one was instantly recognisable. Hunter's mansion on fire, high up on the cliff. It was the view from the docks – she could tell from the angle and the distance of the house. She'd been carrying Timmy against her, with him facing behind her for most of the way. This was just before he'd begun to cry.

A long-fingered hand came into her view, carefully taking the edge of the picture. Rashel glanced up to find Thierry watching her, as if asking permission. She gave an uncertain nod, and he picked it up and studied it.

In the quiet, she looked back down at Timmy's second picture and froze.

She knew that face.

She reached for it, took it so incredibly gently.

The woman was young, maybe in her late twenties. She had a gentle face and soft brown hair. Some of the proportions were slightly off from what Rashel remembered, and not all seemed down to Timmy's not-yet mastered grasp of anatomy. But one look at those tilted blue eyes confirmed it.

Timmy's mother. Rashel racked her memory for her name. Emma... no, Emily? Wait.

Amelia.

She became aware of eyes on her and looked up to find Thierry watching her quietly. She tilted the picture slightly, drawing attention to it. 'His mom, Amelia. I didn't even realise he remembered her properly.'

Thierry reached out, a silent request. Rashel placed the picture in his hand and watched him study it.

'She's still alive?' He asked.

Rashel gave an uncertain shrug. 'I assume so. After my aunt died, I lost all contact with my old life. The last time I saw her was the day of my birthday, when we picked Timmy up. She was fine then.' Rashel paused, staring at the picture. 'Twelve years. Timmy was never officially reported dead, just missing. Twelve years she's lived with that, not knowing if he was alive or not. What happened to him.' She looked up at Thierry. 'Someone should let her know, give her some closure, but...'

'But that would break Night World law,' Thierry finished for her gently. He bowed his head to look at the picture again, considering. 'However, Circle Daybreak is outside of Night World law. Technically, we are all criminals, and humans are as welcome here as vampires. What the main considerations should be, I believe, is what would be kinder for Amelia. The truth, or a lie that her son's body has been found so she has closer. The latter would be safer for her, but perhaps not what she would want if she herself were given the choice. My main worry however, is what _Timmy_ wants. Does he want to establish contact with his mother again? And if he does...' he hesitated, choosing his words carefully. 'Would his mother be safe with him? I am aware Timmy can have... outbursts. For another vampire they are a simple temper tantrum. For a human...' Thierry gestured at the faint scars still visible on her arms. 'One bite in the wrong place could be fatal.' He handed the picture back to Rashel and stood. Rashel automatically rose to her feet as well, both out of respect and not wanting to have a height disadvantage. _Behave, idiot._

Thierry gave her one of his small, sad smiles. 'I think this is something you need to discuss with Timmy first and foremost. If he is open to reuniting with his mother, well... we will do everything we can to help him. If you need something, just ask.' With that he gave her a small nod and headed for the door, leaving Rashel staring after him. Slowly she looked back down at the face in her hands and wondered exactly how she was going to handle this.

* * *

'Timmy?'

It was later that afternoon. Rashel and Quinn were in Timmy's room adjoining theirs, and Rashel had Amelia's picture in her hands. Timmy was sprawled out on the floor on his stomach, doing a thousand-piece puzzle.

She'd explained everything to Quinn once he had brought Timmy back from feeding and they'd settled him down in his room for a nap. He still had the sleep patterns of a child – and the sulky insistence on staying awake as long as possible until his head was drooping onto his chest.

Timmy looked up with a smile, his puzzle already a quarter done.

Rashel knelt down next to him, careful not to disturb the pieces. Quinn hovered behind her, staying on his feet. He kept a close eye on the child vampire. They'd come to realise over the past couple of days that a lot of Timmy's outbursts were triggered by mentioning things from when he was human, or things related to Hunter. Quinn had suggested that, while it was far from the only problem Timmy had, the boy had undiagnosed PTSD – and it was only becoming worse now because he'd been removed from the source of the trauma. From Hunter. Now he was in a relatively safe place, he was getting these attacks more often. The only thing that marked his particular case out from the norm was that his episodes often resulted in him lashing out at others, possibly as a result of being turned so young. He didn't have the kind of emotional restraint needed to internalise or rationalise what he was feeling, so like the child he was he lashed out in anger and fear. It wasn't your average type of PTSD, but then Timmy wasn't average.

The witches had only been able to shrug and say it was possible when Quinn had asked one of them earlier. While child vampires weren't rare, the vast majority of them were lamia. As far as anyone knew, Timmy was the only made child vampire this side of the Midwest. The witches had no other cases to compare him to.

Rashel took a breath, praying she wasn't about to trigger a screaming fit. Or an attack. That's why Quinn was staying on his feet. They knew Timmy was unstable, and they knew his feelings towards Rashel were... complicated, to say the least. If he went for her throat, Quinn wanted to be in a position to intercept him.

'I saw your drawings today,' Rashel said quietly, meeting Timmy's eyes as the little boy sat up, more on eye level. 'The one of the fire. And this one.' She gently offered it to him.

Timmy took it, face solemn as he studied it.

'Do you remember who that is?' She prompted him.

He nodded slowly, eyes glazed. 'Mommy.'

Rashel nodded. One step at a time. 'And what do you remember about her?'

'She's... human. She kissed me goodbye.' His blue eyes narrowed. 'She didn't care about me. Hunter said-'

'Ah-ah,' Rashel said, keen to cut him off before they could hear yet another thing 'Hunter said'. It was currently Timmy's favourite phrase. 'Timmy, look at me. Hunter said I didn't care about you too, didn't he?' He nodded. 'And was he right?'

Timmy hesitated, torn. 'I- No? You-' He stopped, looking down at the picture again, breathing rapid. He was getting upset. 'You took me out of the fire. But you took Hunter away. You left me-'

Quinn was tensing up behind her.

'Why was that? You said so before, do you remember?'

He looked up at her, eyes wide and pained, but clear. 'Because you wanted to survive. Because you were strong.'

'And just because I left, it doesn't mean I didn't care about you, does it?'

He slowly shook his head. 'No.'

Rashel gently reached out to touch the edge of the picture. 'And if Hunter was wrong about me, then he could be wrong about her too. Right?'

Timmy was shivering. 'I don't know. She didn't look for me. Your mommy tried to save you. Where was mine? I wanted my mommy,' he whimpered, slowly starting to cry, hugging the picture against his chest, crumpling it.

Rashel reached for him, effortlessly picking him up and pulling him into her lap and hugging him close. She didn't care that this brought his teeth too close to her neck for Quinn to stop him if he tried to bite her. She rocked him gently, the paper crackling softly, fighting the sting in her eyes and the salty lump in her throat. 'I know. I know, Timmy. And if she'd been there, I can promise you she would have come running, just like mine. She loved you so much.' She didn't say that if she had, she would have died as well. He didn't need to hear that – and he probably knew, anyway. Right now, he just needed to know his mother would have been there for him if she could have been.

'And hey, listen.' She didn't have long sleeves, so she wiped his tears with her hand and wrist instead. 'Listen. If you want to, we can try and find her for you. Would you like that?'

Timmy froze, and Rashel fought not to do the same. Had she said the wrong thing? Beside her, Quinn dropped to one knee, a hand on her shoulder. It was genuinely supportive, but it also gave him the chance to jam his hand between Timmy's teeth and her neck if need be.

Timmy was looking up – not at her throat, but her face, his eyes wide and pleading and hopeful. 'We could?'

Rashel nodded with a tremulous smile. 'Yeah. If you want to.'

'But...' Timmy lifted one small hand up to his mouth – to his teeth. 'What if she doesn't want me anymore?'

Rashel opened her mouth, closed it again to reconsider.

They'd lived in southern Louisiana, though neither of them really had the accent anymore. While she didn't remember Timmy's family being overly religious, going to Church on Sundays was just something you did. She remembered the little green dress she used to wear for it. She'd fallen out of the habit in the years since, and had found that it had only been that – a habit. Something she and Mommy did together. She didn't know if she'd lost her faith when her mother died. She didn't know if she'd had faith to lose. Church just had stories that were hard to hear with the echo, and was in a nice building, and they got a piece of strange bread at the end of it and shook people's hands. Maybe she'd just been taken away from it too young. Maybe she never would have been that much of a believer anyway.

What was even harder to say was how Amelia would react to her son being a vampire. Rashel looked at Quinn, found his expression bleak. He knew exactly what religion could drive someone to when confronted with the Night World.

While Rashel just couldn't see Amelia chasing her boy with a stake, she honestly didn't know if she would reject him as a monster or not.

The truth then. She would just have to deal with the fallout.

She brushed Timmy's hair back, meeting his eyes squarely. 'I don't know, Timmy. I really don't. But no matter what you choose, or what happens, I'll be here for you. OK?' Even if that meant being something like a mother at seventeen. She owed him that.

He squared his little jaw, chin sticking out, and nodded. Then he did something he hadn't done in twelve years.

He hugged her.

As Rashel wrapped her arms around him, he mumbled into her T-shirt. 'I want to try.'

She nodded, resting her chin on top of his head. 'Alright. We'll talk with Thierry.'

Quinn squeezed her shoulder, and she glanced over at him. He gave her a small, supportive smile.

 _I'm proud of you._ It still gave her a little jolt of surprise when he used telepathy, but she was starting to get used to it. She smiled at him and thought back, not sure if she was doing it right or not.

 _I just hope she accepts him._


	2. Chapter 2

Timmy came with her and Quinn to ask Thierry to help find Amelia. He'd all but dragged her out by the hand the next morning – after waking them up at half four in the morning to see if it wasn't 'too early' yet. Rashel had been about to send him back to bed for at least three hours, when she remembered that vampires were generally nocturnal and Thierry might actually be awake at this time. Quinn had tried to give her a reprieve by making Timmy wait in the room while he went and checked with one of Thierry's many assistants, only to come back five minutes later with an apologetic grimace. There had been no stopping Timmy then – he had raced around the room, grabbing a handful of clothes – some hers, some Quinn's – and throwing them at her, chanting for her to get dressed. Quinn had had to pick him up and physically carry him out of the room to give her some privacy to find clothes that were actually hers and pull them on. As soon as she had emerged from her room, Timmy had seized her hand and towed her down the corridor, nearly dislocating her fingers in his haste.

That's how she came to still be half-asleep and with the collar of her blouse sticking up at quarter to five in the morning, fast approaching a rather solid wooden door. Unperturbed, Timmy barged into what turned out to be Thierry's office with the briefest rap of knuckles on wood masquerading as a knock Rashel had ever heard. Rashel staggered in after him, catching the rebounding door with her free hand and trying to apologise through a still sleep-addled tongue and Timmy's loud babbling of 'Thierry, Thierry! Rashelsaidyoucouldfindmymom!'

To the Lord of the Night World's credit, he took this invasion of his office in his stride, merely blinking at the clamouring child, sleepy human and amused vampire in the doorway. 'You've discussed this then?'

Timmy nodded furiously. Rashel just waved her free hand at the boy in an 'ask him' gesture, running her tongue over her teeth and wishing she'd had chance to brush them first.

Thierry set his current paperwork aside and reached for the phone on his desk. 'In that case, I'll get someone on it. Do you remember the address you used to live at, Timmy? Even if your parents have moved, it would be a good starting point.'

Timmy stopped mid-word, and Rashel's heart stuttered and sank, all vestiges of sleep vanishing.

What was his old address? Hell, what was _her_ old address? She didn't remember. If she'd been in the neighbourhood, she _might_ have been able to find her way to it using landmarks, but the name of the street?

Looking down, she saw Timmy's face crumple. If she couldn't remember, what chance did he have? He'd cut all ties to humanity for the past twelve years, thanks to Hunter. And she could see he had no clue where to start.

OK, think. What did she remember from then? Timmy had only lived around the corner from her house...

And her old address would be on file.

She straightened as much as she could without letting go of Timmy's hand. 'Pull my social services file. That'll have my old address in, and Timmy only lived around the corner. From my front door, you turned left to the end of the street, turned the corner left, and Timmy's was the fourth house along. I used to walk that almost every day.'

Little fingers squeezed hers, and she looked down at Timmy. He was smiling at her.

So was Thierry when she looked up.

'That shouldn't be a problem. I'll get someone on it, to find out if the family is still there. I'll let you know as soon as we have news,' he said, lifting the handset. He somehow made the movement a polite dismissal, and the three of them headed out, Timmy swinging Rashel's arm and humming to himself.

Quinn took her other hand. She turned to smile at him, briefly resting her head on his shoulder. She felt him nod against the crown of her head before she straightened.

'I'll take him for a few hours. You go and get some more sleep.'

'You sure?' She asked, slumping in relief when he nodded. 'Thanks. I just need another two, then I'll be fine-'

'Just sleep until you wake up. There's no rush to be anywhere, is there? And I can handle him for that long, trust me,' he said.

She gave him a rueful grin. 'I believe you. Thanks, Quinn.' It was still strange, having more than just snatched moments of peace. Stranger to have someone to rely on, who offered help without reservation.

She could get used to it.

* * *

They were being properly introduced to the other soulmates when Thierry entered.

Rashel and Quinn had already met Ash, after that very first brief meeting with Thierry. He'd been lounging about outside Thierry's office when they came out. Rashel still wasn't completely sure about the lamia – his laconic manner reminded her of Ivan's permanent slouch, and his ever-changing eyes made him difficult to read. Ash being a Redfern didn't help. But Quinn seemed to trust him well enough, his initial hostility evaporated. 'Just take everything he says with a heap of salt,' he'd said when Rashel asked about him. 'And never get into a game of poker with him. He'll fleece you for everything you've got.'

Ash was having far too much fun, introducing them. Ash's cousin James Rasmussen couldn't stop staring at Quinn, like he was expecting him to disappear or magic the Night World Council into the room or something. His soulmate Poppy North was more relaxed, and teased him almost as much as Ash did. Oddly enough, James only gave one of them filthy looks for it.

The other two soulmate pairs were both witch-human relationships. Ash's other cousin Thea Harman, who apparently used to be some kind of witch princess or something, and her human boyfriend Eric Ross. They brought a calming influence to the group, and Thea seemed most able to keep Ash in line. Then there were the newest arrivals – newer than Quinn and herself, though the couple had been together longer. Gillian Lennox and David Blackburn had arrived yesterday and were here for Easter break. Gillian was tiny and fey; Rashel didn't have a hard time believing she was a witch, though she'd only discovered her heritage recently. Her soulmate David looked the most thrown by it all. At least Eric had had nearly six months to get used to everything, but both human boys looked distinctly lost whenever Night World chatter came up.

Rashel smiled to herself. They'd learn.

Turned out Ash had had something to do with every couple in the room. He'd saved Gillian from a Night World club she'd gone to back before Christmas, and beyond being cousins with James, he'd apparently meddled in his and Poppy's lives just after Poppy had been turned. None of them went into specifics, but it explained why Poppy gave Ash a cool look whenever he opened his mouth. Forgiven, but not friends had been Ash's way of putting it.

Rashel and Quinn were taking their turn to tell their story when there was a knock on the door and Thierry entered.

There was an odd reaction in the group. James and Thea stood up immediately, Poppy and Eric being tugged to their feet by their soulmates. Gillian and David followed suit, a little bemused. Ash looked like he wasn't even going to bother, but at the last second slung his legs to the floor from where they'd been hanging over the arm of a sofa and stood. Rashel and Quinn were already standing, but Quinn turned respectfully to Thierry. Rashel caught all this in a glance before following his lead. She'd never known exactly what being a Lord of the Night World entailed, but apparently it came with major respect. That or it was him being the oldest made vampire in the world. Either way.

'Sorry to interrupt,' he said quietly, and it was more than just a formality to him. Rashel could hear it in his voice. 'If I could borrow Rashel and Quinn a moment?'

They headed out the door Thierry held open. Rashel felt vaguely like she was being called to the principal's office – though that might have been Ash's juvenile 'oooh' of someone being caught doing something they shouldn't. The door closed on James swatting his cousin on the arm.

Thierry gestured for them to walk with him in the direction of his office. 'I've heard back from the team I sent out to find Timmy's parents,' he said.

That got Rashel's full attention. 'And?'

'His mother still lives in the same house. However, she and his father divorced nine years ago. From what we can gather, his mother is currently living alone. She has no other children. Timmy's father is now living in Florida, and has been for around four years. I think his work drew him there. Again, no second family to speak of.'

Rashel nodded, staring off down the corridor as she processed everything. It was a shame, she thought. Amelia and Rob had always seemed happy together. But the stress of losing a child – and not knowing if that child was dead or not – just might have been too much for them.

'Has anyone told Timmy yet?' He had a lot more freedom now that they knew he wasn't going to be snatched and killed for being an illegal vampire. He was off exploring the mansion, and had mentioned something about a pool that morning. He'd always loved to swim when they were kids.

'No. I thought that was best left to you. We haven't contacted either of his parents yet – we're taking things one step at a time. What we need to figure out now, is how to approach them. That's what I was hoping you could help me with.' Thierry opened his office door and held it open for the pair of them.

When they were all settled around his desk, Thierry clasped his hands on the dark wood and sighed, searching for the right words. 'As they are now living apart, I think we should get in touch with each parent individually. This will also make the situation easier to manage should things get... out of hand. Timmy seems most focused on his mother, and she is closer, so we should start with her. When we contact Mrs. Davis, we are going to have to be... cautious in the way we word our message. I think what would be best is if I call her, and say that some new information on Timmy's case has come to light. Though she and her husband have divorced, they are both still trying to keep an awareness campaign going. They haven't given up on finding out what happened to their son, so new information cropping up isn't impossible.' Thierry paused, tapping his thumbs together once in thought. 'What I would like to do is arrange a personal meeting with her, before we bring Timmy into this. It will be easier and safer to explain things to her that way, and we will be able to get an idea of what her reaction to her son will be.' He looked up and locked eyes with Rashel then, and she knew what was coming before he said anything. 'I'd like you to be there. You are the only eye witness, after all, and she knows you. It might be easier for her to have you present.'

Rashel nodded slowly, willing, but uncertain. 'I don't mind, but I don't know what the police will have told her about what I said. She might have already heard about the vampire story. As a traumatised kid, OK, she might have understood that. But if I turn up as an adult, saying the same thing? She's going to think I'm crazy.'

Thierry bowed his head in acceptance. 'That is why we'll be careful in our wording, until it comes to the point of telling her the truth. Then I think a demonstration would be the best approach.'

Rashel jolted. 'A _demonstration_?' She demanded. What was he going to do, bite her to convince her?

Thierry was already holding his hands up, asking for patience. 'Merely this,' he said, smiling to show his teeth lengthening. Then he dropped the smile, and his teeth shrunk back to normal. He ran his tongue across them as Rashel relaxed back into her seat, relieved and a bit self-conscious.

'Sorry,' she murmured, wincing slightly. Quinn lightly nudged her with his shoulder, smiling. Not mocking, but supportive.

Thierry smiled gently. 'It's understandable, with your background.'

Rashel huffed something non-committal, waving her mishap away. 'So we show her before we tell her, so she's more likely to believe us. Then we deal with the fallout and give her the details.'

Thierry nodded. 'In essence, yes. Once everything has settled and if she is willing, we will set up a second meeting, with Timmy this time.'

'And if she isn't willing?' Rashel asked. 'What if she freaks out completely and starts screaming for the police... or the local priest?'

Thierry grimaced, but dipped his head in acknowledgement. It was a possibility, after all. 'That is why I will be there. I can monitor her thoughts, and if it seems like she can't handle it... well, I can influence her to stop her from screaming, then I can make her forget everything connected to vampires. If this happens, I'll get you to leave the room and I will instead tell her we've found her son's body. She won't remember you were there, and she will get closure. It will be the best option for her, should she reject him.'

Rashel took a deep breath and nodded. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, but not all people could handle the existence of the Night World. Better for Amelia to be ignorant and sane than aware and cracking because of it. 'All right. Give me time to explain everything to Timmy, then make the call.'

* * *

Rashel paused outside the games room. She could hear the others talking and laughing, the ice breaking. She looked up at Quinn and gave a half-hearted wave at the door. 'Do you want to go back in?'

He shook his head. 'No, I want to make sure you're all right.'

She was about to wave it off when she caught the _look_ he gave her. The 'I know you're lying before you even open your mouth, so don't bother', one. It had become very familiar in the few days she'd had her burns and was being quizzed on her pain level. Sighing, she let her shoulders slump.

Quinn took her hand. 'Come on.' He tugged her away from the communal wing, off towards their bedroom. The adjoining door to Timmy's room was open, showing the child's room was empty. Quinn swung the door closed and sat Rashel down on the bed before sitting next to her, eyes solemn. 'Talk to me. This whole thing is worrying you.'

'I just...' Rashel lifted the hand Quinn wasn't holding, then dropped it again in defeat. 'I don't know how I'm going to tell him that, yes, we've found her, but he can't see her until we've figured out if she's going to be reaching for a stake when she sees him or not. You saw how excited he was yesterday – I don't want to ruin that for him, and I don't want him to start doubting himself. But if I don't tell him and he finds out we've kept this from him, all the trust and progress we've made so far will go out the window. And if I tell him and she rejects him... I don't know how he'd handle that. Hell, I don't know how _I'd_ handle that.' She lifted her hand again, dropping it back to her thigh with a soft slap. 'I don't know what to do.' She gave a little, helpless laugh. 'I can't believe that this has all happened in two weeks. Two weeks today, in fact. And five days ago, I thought Timmy was dead. Now, if Amelia doesn't want him and Rob doesn't either, I might end up being something like his _mom_.' She snorted, shaking her head. She was aware she was ranting, and couldn't quite summon up the will to care. After everything that had happened, she figured she was due one. At least it wasn't the little voice in her head telling her to kill everything this time. 'Welcome to the Night World, where you skip dating and go straight to life long commitment, and where you get an eternally-four-year-old kid the same time you get a boyfriend.' She gestured wildly with her free hand, finally starting to run out of steam.

Quinn let go of her hand and she looked around, startled. She hadn't meant the part about commitment as a negative, just one of the many things that had happened to her in the past few days. She was opening her mouth to apologise, to explain – when his hand landed on her shoulder instead and he pulled her into a hug. She froze for a moment, thrown, then slumped against him in relief and gratitude, wrapping her arms around him.

She felt the rumble in his chest before she heard his voice, and smiled against his shoulder.

'More has happened in the past two weeks than has happened to you – to either of us – in the past decade. It's stressful, and it's almost overwhelming. No one is going to fault you for saying so,' he said.

'It's all right to ask for help,' she muttered into his shoulder, summarising his point. Then her lips twitched. 'Says the one who nearly got tortured because he wouldn't take a good escape opportunity when he was being shoved towards it.'

Quinn groaned and sat back to look at her. He opened his mouth to argue, saw that she was actually smiling, and closed it with a long-suffering sigh. He pulled her against him again, resting his head against hers. 'Hunter was right. I am going soft.'

'The broken training dummy in the gym begs to differ.'

'... I'm going to kill Ash,' Quinn groaned.

Rashel laughed into his collar. Ash had told her about the mishap earlier. She wasn't cleared for full-intensity training yet, so Quinn had been dragging Ash to the gym for a few sparring rounds when he got bored or whenever the lamia got too cheeky. Apparently they had gotten a little carried away this morning and Quinn had somehow managed to smash a training dummy off its floor bracket. A _vampire-reinforced_ training dummy. Ash had insisted he had nothing to do with it – which, Rashel had learned, meant Quinn had probably been aiming for _him_ and Ash had been fast and lucky enough to get out of the way.

There was a little rap at the door – the adjoining one, not the hallway one. The door opened and Timmy stuck his head in without waiting for an invitation. His black hair was shining and dripping with water. When he saw them holding each other, his little nose wrinkled. 'Am I interrupting something?'

That level of condescension coming out of a four-year-old's mouth was bizarre. Rashel trampled a laugh and said 'no' at the same time Quinn said, completely deadpan, 'therapy'. Rashel looked at him, lips twitching, before trying to compose herself.

Timmy looked them up and down, clearly disbelieving. 'Right.' He made to withdraw, but Rashel sat up straight.

'Actually, Timmy.'

He paused and looked back around the doorframe, curious.

Her heartbeat picked up a little, but better now than later. May as well get it over with. 'We were about to come and find you – I just needed a minute to... de-stress,' she said, glancing at Quinn.

Timmy grimaced. 'Don't _tell_ me!'

'I'm not!' Rashel groaned. 'And we weren't doing anything, anyway-' Stop getting distracted. Sighing impatiently, she reached for calm and drew it around herself.

Timmy noticed the difference and focused on her, serious. 'What?'

'Thierry came and found us while you were swimming. He's got some information on your mom,' she said, trying for gentleness.

Timmy's eyes went wide and he stared at her.

Rashel patted the mattress and Timmy crossed the room immediately, scrambling up to sit between them. Rashel tentatively put her arm around him, settling it more firmly when he didn't shrug her off. He smelt of chlorine. 'Your mom still lives in your old house. But she and your dad... they aren't together anymore, Timmy.'

'They're divorced?'

She nodded, rubbing his back as that sunk in. It didn't take as long as she expected. When he looked back up, there was no confusion or denial. Just acceptance.

'What else? Can I see them?'

Rashel dipped her head, shifting a little further back onto the bed as she spoke. 'They don't know anything yet, Timmy – some of Thierry's people have just confirmed where they both are. Your dad's in Florida now, for his work. But Thierry's got a plan set up,' she said, making sure she had Timmy's full attention so he wouldn't interrupt her. 'We're going to go to each of them one at a time. We need to introduce them to the Night World carefully – so that they're safe, for one, and so that they believe us. So what Thierry thought was to arrange an initial meeting with your mom, where he explains the Night World to her, and tells her what happened to you. Then after that, we set up another meeting or bring her here, and you get to see her. Then we do the same with your dad. It's to keep them safe, you see?'

Timmy studied his shoes, scowling. 'Yeah, but why can't I go to the first one? Why can't Thierry explain, then let me see her? I could just wait in the car until she was ready!' He turned to her, tone changing abruptly to childish hope, eyes wide and pleading. 'I'd stay in the car, I'd be good! I'd wait all day until she wanted to see me!'

'Timmy...' Rashel looked over his head briefly at Quinn, mouthing silently, scrambling for the words that would convince him. She couldn't find them. 'I... we'd have to check with Thierry. He's the one in charge of all this-'

It was the wrong thing to say – she could see that instantly. All the anger and storm clouds were flooding back into Timmy's eyes. She could see him shutting her out.

'No, you _don't_! You could say yes but you won't!' He was shouting now, slipping agilely from the bed to stand in front of her, fists clenched, leaning forward with the force of his volume. 'You don't want me to see her, you don't! You don't care about me! You're scared I'll hurt her if I go!' He spun, about to run out of the room.

If he'd been a normal child throwing a tantrum, she would have let him go. But she knew if she let him leave now, he'd never trust her again. She lunged for him, landing on one knee and seizing his shoulder, spinning him back towards her.

He was fast. He used her spin to put more force behind his little hand, swinging up and around to her throat. This wasn't an untrained child's punch, wild and loose and sloppy. This was precise, with the full weight of his little body and all his vampire strength behind it. That could crush her throat if it hit.

Timmy's vampire reflexes might be fast, but Rashel's training made her faster. She snapped her left hand up and slammed his punch aside open-handed, towards his opposite side. Timmy staggered, but her hand on his shoulder kept him on his feet. She kept her other hand wrapped around his little wrist, to stop him lashing out again. She shook his shoulder – not nearly enough to hurt, but to make him look at her. His blue eyes were furious – but not hateful, not yet. His teeth were extended, indenting his lower lip.

'I'm scared _she'll_ hurt _you_!' She snapped, almost matching his volume.

Timmy jerked in her grip, eyes wide. She'd startled him. Good. That meant he'd _listen_ to her. No going back now; she'd have to tell the truth.

She took a steadying breath, forcing her voice to be quieter. 'I am scared that if she reacts badly – and she _might_ , Timmy, she's human and has never encountered the Night World before – that she might try to hurt you if you're there. The reason we're having two meetings is so that if she _does_ freak out, we can contain it and wipe her memory. I'm doing this to protect _both_ of you – her mentally, and you physically.' She paused for breath, desperately trying to read his eyes, to see if she'd got through to him. 'Do you understand?'

His eyes were fixed steadily on hers – wide and open and, in that moment, painfully innocent. He didn't nod. He didn't speak. But slowly his face crumpled, and she could see tears welling in his eyes. This wasn't the scared, frustrated, lost sobbing from the yacht. This was just simple heartbreak, and his adult silence only made it worse. His shoulders shook, but he made no noise as the tears rolled down his flushed cheeks.

For the second time in three days, Rashel pulled him forward into a hug. This time he clung to her, fingers clenched in her shirt, face pressed hard against her shoulder.

'She doesn't want me.' His voice was thick, trembling.

Rashel rubbed his back, slowly leaning back out of her crouch. Timmy went with her until he was sat in her lap; her legs sprawled out, her back against the foot of the bed. 'I didn't say that. For all I know, she won't give a damn you're a vampire and might demand to see you there and then. But we have to be _careful_ , Timmy. If she does want to see you, it'll have to be at a safe location. People might start getting suspicious if Thierry suddenly starts visiting a human woman in Louisiana, and he can't risk that kind of scrutiny. We'll have to bring her here, or bring her to a safe house somewhere in between. Somewhere we can control the security and the surveillance. We're just doing everything one step at a time, so no one gets hurt. But hey, listen.' She waited until he turned his tear-stained face up to look at her. 'I promise you, I won't keep anything from you. I'll tell you everything that's going on, OK? Even if it's bad news. If Thierry has a problem with it, he can just deal with it.' That got a watery smile from him. His teeth had shrank back to blunt. 'Sound good to you?'

He nodded. 'Yeah.' His voice was whispery from crying. He paused, then curled back up against her chest. 'Can I stay here a little while?'

Rashel looked down at him, surprised, but gently placed her arms around him again. 'Yeah. Of course you can.'

He nodded against her shirt, his damp hair and tears slowly soaking through to her skin. Rashel couldn't bring herself to care. She was in Vegas. Step outside and it'd dry in two minutes. Besides, this was more important.

She wondered vaguely if this was what 'being maternal' felt like.

The bed dipped behind her head slightly and she looked to her left as Quinn lowered himself to sit beside her. His arm slid from the mattress to around her shoulders. He nodded to Timmy, with warmth in his eyes that she was still getting used to. _You handled him really well._

She smiled distractedly, looking back down at the child in her arms. _I was just praying I wouldn't screw things up._

Quinn's hand gently squeezed her shoulder. _Even if things with his parents don't work out... I think we'll manage OK._ You _will manage OK. You're better at this than you think._

She nodded, trying to push her own doubts aside. _I hope things_ do _work out though. He really misses them, and... well, I've never even contemplated having kids. Better someone with actual experience at the whole parenting thing looks after him. But if not..._ she heaved a soft sigh, running her thumb over the small bumps in Timmy's spine. His breathing was levelling out, not as snuffly now. He was drifting off to sleep. _I'll learn. I'm not passing him off to anyone who isn't his mom or dad. I've been pretty lucky with the human foster system, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stick him in one, not even a Daybreak one. I'm not going to abandon him like that._

 _I wouldn't expect you to,_ he thought.

She looked up at him, serious. _You wouldn't mind getting landed with a kid because of me? A kid who is_ never _going to grow up?_

He leaned in towards her, eyes completely open and honest. _No, I wouldn't. Would it be a challenge? Would it make life more complicated? Yes. But it wouldn't push me away._

Rashel studied him carefully, seeing and accepting the truth she could see. With a shaky, relieved breath, she dipped her head to rest it on his shoulder, a thankful pressure since her hands were full. 'Thank you,' she whispered, too quietly to disturb Timmy.

Quinn pressed a light kiss to the top of her head. _Of course. Besides, I_ do _have some experience with vampire children. I had to babysit for Garnet a few times when Hunter and I were on speaking terms._

The thought made her smile. She felt a faint tickle of warmth – Quinn, pleased she was smiling again.

Telepathy on this level was something she was going to have to get used to.

 _So you were Uncle Quinn._

He snorted. There were brief flickers of memory – little children with the Redfern hair and sunny smiles. _For a few years, until Hunter and I had another falling out. They_ loved _their granddad – he got to them young. Can't blame them, really. Garnet was never evil, just... she didn't have much force in her. Never stood up to her dad. The kids saw that and took it as her agreeing with him, so Grandpa Hunter was always right. The most resistance Garnet ever showed was taking so long to settle down. She always held a torch for me. Never tried to compete with Dove though. Didn't want to get in the way of her little sister's happiness. But even after Dove died, it took Garnet over a decade to finally move on. I don't know if Hunter eventually wore her down or if she came to it on her own. She and Fletcher were happy together though. And she adored her kids._ He sat up a little straighter, as if remembering something. _Ash and James are actually two of her descendents, four generations removed.  
_

 _Really?_ Rashel paused a moment, thinking. _Wait, so you're Ash and James' great uncle? Have you ever tried pulling that card on Ash?_

Another bolt of warmth – sharper, this time, rippling. Amusement.

 _No, and do you honestly think he'd listen to me if I did?_

 _True. Pity, that._ The thought had them both grinning at each other, and all the tension Rashel had been holding onto had drained away. She glanced down at Timmy and shifted slightly, wincing as pins and needles threatened her right leg. The little vampire was sound asleep, exhausted from his outburst. Rashel gently brushed back his hair, then carefully started to get a more secure hold on him. _I'm going to put him to bed for a while. He probably needs it._

Quinn rose with her, helping her stand smoothly despite the added weight and awkward position. Rashel winced as she stood straight, shifting her weight to her left leg and stretching out her right to restore full feeling in the leg.

 _I'll go and tell Thierry to make the call. The sooner we have this resolved one way or another, the better for Timmy,_ he thought as she turned towards their adjoining door.

Rashel nodded. _OK. I'll come find you when I've got him settled._

Timmy had somehow managed to accumulate quite a few things in their few days at the mansion. While all Rashel and Quinn had were new clothes and a few things scavenged from their respective houses on the way out of Boston, Timmy had puzzles, games, clothes and various items he'd collected. Rashel wasn't entirely sure where he'd found half of it, but since she hadn't heard any complaints about things going missing or being stolen, she wasn't going to question it.

She carried him over to the double bed, stooping slightly and holding him in one arm so she could pull the covers back with her free hand. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his shoes off before laying him down. The bed swamped him as drew the light sheet over him, leaving the heavier covers folded back. Timmy barely stirred, merely settling himself more comfortably on the pillow before falling back into a deep sleep.

For a moment Rashel just sat and looked at him. This could be her life, she realised. If things went south with both Amelia and Rob, she could end up being the one to say goodnight and tuck Timmy in each night. The one to calm him down from his outbursts, help him adapt to normal life instead of whatever twisted routine Hunter had him following.

And it would never change. Timmy would never outgrow this. He would never get a better grasp over his emotions. He might have fewer outbursts as time went on and he healed, mentally, but he would always have the emotional range of a four year old – one irreparably altered and damaged by becoming a vampire.

She could be doing this in five, ten, twenty, fifty years time. And sure, while kids of their own would never be possible for her and Quinn – if either of them would even have wanted them at some point – that didn't mean Timmy would be some sort of replacement. And besides, the whole point of kids was that _they grew up_ – that's what being a parent _was_. Getting to watch your child grow up and become their own person. That would never happen for her.

And it wouldn't for Amelia and Rob, either. Even if they accepted their son wholeheartedly, they would be stuck in the same situation. And they would be less able to manage him, because they knew nothing about the Night World and dealing with vampires. Either way, someone would have to look after him for the rest of his life. They couldn't just abandon Timmy to his own devices and expect him to survive. The way he was now, he'd end up killing to feed and being killed by the Council for over-hunting, or exposing himself as a vampire by accident.

So he'd need caretakers. And no matter who it was, herself or his parents... what about when they died? They were only human. They would only be here for a few short decades at most, then Timmy would be back to square one. He was immortal. Who would look after him then? Circle Daybreak, maybe, if it was still running. Thierry might help.

Rashel shook her head, sighing softly. There was no answer, really. Not yet. It was something to ask Thierry, no matter what the outcome of meeting Timmy's parents was. Maybe they could set something up for the future. For now, they just needed to get the next few decades sorted. Then they could worry about the centuries after that.

She left the room silently, closing the door behind her, feeling lower than she had since the enclave.


	3. Chapter 3

Rashel woke to screaming.

She jolted upright in bed, Quinn already wide awake and throwing the covers back. Rashel scrambled after him, snatching up the wooden knife from her bedside table. It had sat there as decoration since arriving at the Circle.

They both bolted for Timmy's room, Quinn getting there first and throwing the door open with enough force to floor anyone behind it.

Rashel flew through the doorway, picturing wild possibilities. Hunter's people had found them. The Council had discovered the Circle.

What she found was Timmy lunging up in bed, the last scream dying in his throat as he woke up. He stared around at the nearly empty room, panting, hair sticking to his forehead. He fixed on Rashel and Quinn and drew back in a defensive cringe, lips skinning away from sharp teeth in a feral hiss.

'Timmy? Timmy, it's all right,' Rashel said. The waistband on her pyjama pants wasn't rigid enough to hold the knife securely, so she tossed it away on the floor and held her hands up, showing they were empty. 'It was just a bad dream, it's OK.'

'No!' It was more of a screech than a word. It was too dark for her to make out details, but Rashel was sure Timmy's pupils were blown wide open. He should have no problem seeing and identifying her, but he didn't seem to equate her with the person who had hugged him and reassured him just two days ago. He was irrational, scared, and dangerous. This was the animal side of him – the one likely to lash out blindly to cause as much damage as possible.

She still had to try.

She didn't hear footsteps, but Quinn and Timmy's heads both snapped towards the hallway door an instant before it burst open. Timmy snarled and recoiled again, head darting from Rashel and Quinn to the group of vampires barging into the room armed with everything from guns to wooden swords.

Thierry's guards. They must have heard the screaming. They just made Timmy worse though. The little vampire was backed up against the headboard, hunched over, teeth bared.

Rashel stepped forward, hands still up, as Quinn turned to the guards and started ordering them to stand down. 'Timmy, it's OK. It's all right. It's Rashel. You remember me, right?'

'I hate you! I _hate_ you!'

That was something Rashel had noticed. When Timmy became this irrational, to the point of reacting like an animal in a trap, his memory seemed to be affected. He didn't remember the positive things he had learned in the past few days – he just became that angry, violent person from the enclave. Rashel didn't know if it could be classed as multiple personality disorder – was that what it was even called anymore? – but the Timmy of yesterday was wildly different to the hissing, snarling shape on the bed.

Rashel took another step and Timmy mock-lunged, to the end of the bed then back again.

'Come near me and I'll kill you!'

Rashel stopped. Not out of fear of the threat – she'd tackled vampires bigger, faster and stronger than Timmy for years – but because she could see she would just whip him into a wilder frenzy if she didn't.

Sometimes she could get to him before he went into a full-blown outburst, and calm him down from it. This time he was too far gone, too quickly.

 _Why now?_

The only thing she could think of was stress. Tomorrow she, Quinn and Thierry were flying out to Louisiana. Throw a nightmare on top of that, and Timmy simply couldn't take it.

'Where's Hunter? I want Hunter.' That was the closest Timmy had sounded to a child since he'd woken up.

That was another thing. Timmy didn't seem to remember what had happened on the enclave beyond Rashel taking him away against his will.

'Timmy-'

'No!' He shrieked. 'Hunter? Hunter!' He started screaming the Redfern patriarch's name, over and over – like Hunter was in the house and would come and get him.

Rashel closed her eyes tight in frustration for a moment, wishing for nothing more than Hunter right in front of her. She wouldn't even need a stake. She'd rip out his lying tongue then tear his trachea out of his neck. Vampires could heal many injuries, but they weren't miracle workers. She'd enjoy watching him trying to heal _that_.

But wishful thinking wouldn't get her anyway. Out of options, she looked to Quinn reluctantly. When Timmy was this far gone, usually the only solution was for Quinn to put him to sleep.

Her soulmate had ushered the guards outside, trying to reduce the stress Timmy was under. It wasn't helping much from the way the little vampire was bristling. Quinn caught her look, but turned to Timmy with a speculative expression.

 _Let me try something first._ That was just for her to hear, she knew. She gave the barest nod. If they could find some alternative to the vampire version of a tranquiliser, she'd take it. _I'm going to pretend to knock you out, all right?_

 _What?_ How would _that_ help anything?

 _Just trust me. I think I can talk him down, but not with anyone else around._

 _OK..._ She knew she sounded dubious, but she went with it.

Quinn looked straight at Timmy, and the boy went still, suspicious. Telepathy, Rashel guessed.

Then Quinn came to her, reluctant, mouth a thin line. 'I might have to put him out again. I don't want to keep doing it, but-'

 _Now._

It was all the warning she got before Quinn made a sharp motion, the one he'd used on Daphne and herself for real in the Crypt car park.

Rashel dropped like a stone, letting her knees buckle. She fell forwards – backwards would have been a give-away, since in the truly unconscious the weight of the skull naturally pulled the body forwards. She was fully prepared to hit the ground, but Quinn caught her and broke her fall. He set her down on the floor on her stomach, and Rashel listened to him taking a step or two away from her – towards the bed.

'Convinced yet?'

There was a pause. She heard the mattress give slightly, close to her – like Timmy was leaning over it to look at her.

'I don't remember you.' He still sounded suspicious.

'That's because Hunter's had me out on the West Coast, taking care of business. But you will have heard of me.'

'Yes.' Timmy sounded sulky now. 'But why are you here with _them_?'

Quinn sighed, impatient. 'Waiting for the chance to get you out – which you just gave me, incidentally. Hunter couldn't come himself – the girl hates his guts and would have tried to stake him on sight. And could you see Thierry Descouedres offering him a guest room?'

Timmy giggled.

Rashel kept her breathing deep, slow, even. Quinn was doing it – Timmy was calming down.

'Come on. Better get moving before the guards check on us and find her. Just look sleepy and I'll say I'm walking with you to help you drift off. We can be out of here and on the way to L.A. in half an hour.'

She heard the soft thump of Timmy sliding down from the bed, and felt the air move as the two of them passed her and went into her and Quinn's room. She heard the wardrobe open – Quinn grabbing some clothes and shoes more suited to outdoors than just a pair of light cotton pyjama bottoms. Then a soft huff of breath and rustling – Quinn picking Timmy up. Then their hallway door opened and closed. She heard Quinn's voice, low and indistinct, and the guards rumble in reply.

Then Quinn in her head, gentle and apologetic. _All clear. I'll walk him around until he falls asleep again – shouldn't take long. You don't have to wait up._

 _I know,_ she thought as she sat up and stretched, heading back to her room. _I want to anyway. I can sleep on the flight._

 _All right. I'll see you when we get back._

Sighing, Rashel slumped back onto her side of the bed, staring at the ceiling. Timmy always exhausted himself after one of his episodes – it shouldn't take too long for him to drift off, secure in the belief Quinn was taking him back to Hunter. He'd wake up here tomorrow morning with no recollection of what he'd done during the night.

Rashel couldn't help but wonder... if she couldn't talk Timmy down from these fits, how on Earth were Amelia and Rob supposed to? Yet another obstacle, she supposed. Something else to worry about once they knew whether either parent would be involved in Timmy's life again.

* * *

The rental car rolled to a stop in front of the small suburban house bathed in mid-morning light. It had been a quiet neighbourhood, and still was. The house was painted white now instead of cream, and the door had been replaced – no more solid wood with just a peephole that Rashel had never been tall enough to see through. This door had frosted window panels inset at eye level.

'Ready?' Quinn asked, squeezing her hand.

Rashel looked around at him, drawn from her study of the house through the tinted windows. All three vampires were watching her – Quinn sat next to her, Thierry turned around in the front passenger seat, Nilsson through the rear view mirror. All patient, all waiting. She took a deep breath and nodded, settling the plain black baseball cap more firmly on her head and slipping her sunglasses on. It was unlikely anyone would recognise her as the little girl whose mother had died twelve years ago, but she didn't want to take the chance. 'Let's go.'

Thierry nodded and turned to their driver as Quinn and Rashel stepped out of the car. Thierry followed a moment later as Nilsson turned off the engine and took a few papers from the glove box. Rashel shook her head. That guy was always working. She had never once seen him taking a break.

The front lawn was familiar, though the flowers weren't blooming yet and there were no kids toys scattered about the grass. The same crazy paving path leading to the front door that she and Timmy used to chalk hopscotch squares onto during summer.

She and Quinn hung back a few paces as Thierry knocked on the door. Rashel wasn't sure how quickly Amelia would recognise her, if at all, and they didn't want to cause a scene on the doorstep. Better get inside first.

A shape moved behind the frosted glass, nothing more than a brown, white and blue blur. Then the door opened and Amelia peered around it.

Rashel wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. A haggard woman, worn down by grief? Maybe. But Amelia Davis looked perfectly composed, if nervous, as she contemplated the people on her doorstep. She was older than Rashel remembered, obviously, but looked younger than her forty two years. Her brown hair was done up neatly, her make up done, her blue blouse and grey skirt clean and pressed. There was a small gold crucifix around her neck. She looked professional, like this was an important meeting and she wanted to impress. Well, it was.

 _People move on. They don't all obsess to the point of self-destruction like I did._

Rashel was deeply grateful for the large glasses obscuring most of her face. They hid any of the thoughts she couldn't quite avoid expressing. It didn't matter either way though – Thierry had Amelia's full attention.

'Mrs Davis? My name is Thierry Descouedres, we spoke on the phone. Could we come in?'

Amelia nodded, some of the nerves leeching away. 'Yes, of course.'

The hallway had been redecorated, modernised. More neutral colours and new windows that let in a lot of light compared to the magenta carpet and rose wallpaper that was a leftover from the previous owner who had never left the seventies. Amelia had been intending to redecorate for as long as Rashel had known Timmy.

The living room had been completely done over too, with squishy leather sofas and a beech wood coffee table. Rashel remembered the old, musty green fabric ones with leaf and vine patterns on them.

The leather ones were more comfortable, and didn't make you sneeze. Amelia gestured for them to settle themselves but stayed standing herself, half-turning to the doorway. 'Can I get anyone anything to drink?'

They all shook their heads and answered in the negative. Slowly Amelia took a breath to steady herself and sat down on the free sofa. Thierry, Rashel and Quinn had all sat on the same one, to give her some space. She'd probably be very glad of that in a minute, Rashel thought.

'You said you had some information on my son?' She was composed as she said it, but Rashel could see her working for that composure now. Up close, she could see some of what she had expected. Amelia looked tired beneath the make up.

Thierry bowed his head in a nod. 'I did. I apologise for not giving you any more details over the phone, but what we have found is... unusual, and I felt it best to give you this news in person.'

Amelia nodded. 'And Rob knows? Someone's going to tell him too, right?'

'Everything you know, Rob will too. We felt it would be easier to speak to you both individually, rather than trying to arrange a single meeting time and place that suited everyone. We wanted to get this information to you as soon as possible.'

Amelia nodded; her breath shaky. She hesitated, her eyes glancing over them all again, uncertain. 'I- Forgive me, but... you're all very young to be investigating a missing person's case. I don't mean to offend-'

Thierry held his hands up to calm her, every movement smooth, gentle. 'None taken. We aren't directly affiliated with the police, but Timmy's case came to us, and we... made a breakthrough. Had we gone to the police with it, you might not have heard from anyone for several more weeks or months – and that is if we would be taken seriously in the first place. We decided telling you took priority.'

Amelia nodded. She still looked dubious, but who wouldn't? They were, at face value, a group of teenagers.

Thierry took a deep breath, and somehow they all knew that was the signal that they were getting to the truth. Quinn and Rashel glanced at each other, and Amelia straightened, bracing herself.

'Mrs Davis, before I begin, there are some things I am going to have to explain in order for you to understand our discovery. I'm sorry for the delay, but I hope you can be patient. I'll try to make my explanation fast.'

She nodded – stilted, tense.

Thierry met Amelia's eyes directly, and with any other vampire Rashel would have pegged that as a sign he was influencing her. But this was just simple manners and charisma – they had all agreed before arriving that there would be no influencing involved unless Amelia rejected the truth. It would help no one if she was influenced to accept Timmy, only for the mind control to wear off or for her to develop a resistance in the future and snap because of it.

'In order to find out what happened to Timmy, we went back to the only person who saw what happened. The sole eye witness. Do you remember Rashel Jordan?'

Amelia nodded, eyes softening. 'Of course. She and Timmy were best friends.'

Rashel braced herself. Amelia hadn't recognised her yet – but Thierry was clearly leading her to that.

'Did the police ever tell you what Rashel said happened at the time?'

'I-' Amelia paused, frowning, but slowly continued as she remembered. 'Only that she saw a tall man with red hair attacking Timmy. And that she saw him break Mel's neck, and escaped by getting into the climbing structure.'

'They were never more specific than 'attack'?' Thierry pressed.

'No, they- what does that have to do with things?' she asked, starting to become defensive.

Thierry retreated, holding his hands up again, asking for patience. 'We merely needed to get an idea of what you had already been told. It will make believing us easier.'

'Why? What are you talking about?' She wasn't responding to Thierry's apologetic overtures. She was sitting back from them now. Rashel could see the situation getting away from them.

'Because no one believed me when I told them the truth, Amelia.' She slid her glasses off and pulled off her hat, only glancing up at Amelia briefly before dropping her gaze to her knees. She couldn't meet her eyes properly.

Amelia sank back against the sofa, gaping. She looked faint. 'Rashel?' She whispered.

Rashel nodded, trying to look as small and inoffensive as possible. No wonder she was shocked – she must have wondered, all these years, why Timmy had been the one to go missing and not Rashel. Why it was _her son_ who vanished and not his friend. Rashel didn't blame her. And now to have that same friend sitting in her living room, healthy and grown up, everything her son wasn't – that had to be a kick in the teeth.

'Oh, _sweetheart._ '

Rashel's head jerked up in time to see Amelia rise from the sofa, dodge around the oval coffee table and reach for her.

Rashel rose automatically, but stood in a daze as Amelia hugged her tight.

'Oh Lord, look at you!' Amelia pulled back to look at her, still gripping her arms, and Rashel slowly stuttered into motion, lifting her hands to clasp Amelia's arms.

'I-' Her breath hitched, and she blinked hard, fighting to keep her voice steady. 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't get him out. I couldn't help him.'

Amelia's eyes filled, but she tried to smile, shaking her head. 'Baby, you were five. It wasn't your fault.'

Rashel opened her mouth, but her throat closed over. She shut it and smiled instead, squeezing Amelia's arms tight, the guilt giving way inside her.

Amelia sniffed, wiping her eye with her thumb, and tugged Rashel over to the second sofa. They sat down, Amelia keeping tight hold of Rashel's hand. Rashel looked up to find Quinn smiling softly at her. She didn't think she'd ever seen him so genuinely happy. His smile widened fractionally when he saw her looking – a little 'I told you so'. She shot him one in return, feeling lighter than she had in days. She could take some teasing from him, it didn't matter. There was a grim conversation ahead, she knew that, but right now she took a moment to bask in the simple joy of forgiveness, of some connection to her old life that didn't hate her half the time.

Thierry was smiling as well, that small, genuine one that always had an edge of sadness to it. But he was the one to get things back on track. 'Rashel was actually the one who brought Timmy to our attention. We wouldn't have known about him without her.'

Amelia squeezed her hand and whispered 'thank you'. Rashel gripped back, but dragged herself from her high and focused. They were getting to the dangerous part. She shot Thierry and Quinn a warning look, so they knew she was going for the lead-in.

'The reason the police couldn't find out what happened to Timmy was because they didn't believe me. Thierry and Quinn,' she nodded at her soulmate, taking the opportunity to introduce him, 'did. Honestly, I don't blame the police. What I was saying was pretty crazy, and they wrote off most of it as shock-induced delusions or something. But Quinn and Thierry knew the man who did it, and they knew what kind of person he was. That's why they believed me.' She paused.

Amelia had sobered, and was watching her intently. All doubts had gone, but that aching sadness was back. 'What happened to my boy, Rashel?'

That was enough of a prompt for her to choose her words. She shifted her grip on Amelia's hand slightly, making herself a strong anchor for her. 'Timmy wasn't just attacked, Amelia. The man who did it wasn't some psycho with a knife or anything. The man bit him.'

Amelia took a shuddering breath and covered her mouth with her free hand. She struggled to speak for a moment. 'Bit him?' She croaked. She looked sick.

Rashel nodded. She could see Amelia jumping to the obvious conclusion – and the wrong one, and hastened to intervene.

'It's not what you think. He wasn't some kind of... of pervert, he...' Rashel trailed off, fighting to find a way to explain that wouldn't sound completely insane.

'If I may?' Thierry asked.

They both turned to him, Amelia glancing at Rashel for reassurance. Rashel nodded for him to go ahead, holding Amelia's hand tight.

'The man who took your son bit him because he wasn't human, Amelia. What Rashel saw that day at the carnival was a vampire attack.' As Thierry spoke, Rashel watched his mouth carefully. Sure enough, his teeth were lengthening and sharpening, his dark eyes going black.

Amelia noticed only a few seconds after Rashel – she knew the exact moment Amelia realised because her whole body stiffened. Rashel looked back to her, holding her hand tight, watching her through the shock.

Her pupils had blown wide and she was gasping, her nails digging into the back of Rashel's hand. Her other hand was clutching at the crucifix as if on reflex.

Slowly, Thierry reverted back to normal. His teeth shrank; his eyes lightened and let light escape. He opened his clasped hands in silent appeal. 'We aren't here to hurt you, Mrs Davis. We know what happened to your son, and we're here to help. But we had to show you because simply telling you wouldn't be enough. We didn't want you to throw us out before finding out what had happened to him.'

Amelia was trembling, mouthing wordlessly. She looked helplessly to Rashel, fear there, almost as if she expected Rashel to sprout fangs too.

Rashel tried to give her a reassuring smile. 'It's all right. I know it's a massive shock, but they're telling the truth. If it helps, I trust them completely, and I've spent the past twelve years hunting vampires down and killing them. They won't hurt you, Amelia.'

She was looking between the three of them, scared, but not terrified. Not losing her wits. She looked at Quinn, mouth trembling, but she managed to speak. 'And you?'

Quinn nodded, lips skinning back briefly from his sharp teeth. 'I am. But Rashel is completely human, and she's telling the truth. She spent her whole life trying to find the man that hurt your son. We actually found him seven days ago.'

Amelia was staring at him, transfixed. Rashel got the same impression she'd received at that first soulmate connection – that if the world had gone mad, she may as well go with it.

'As it turned out, the man was my adoptive father – Hunter Redfern. He was born in the fifteen hundreds. He's the one who turned me into a vampire, back in sixteen thirty nine. That's why Thierry and I look so young.'

Amelia's mouth fell open. Rashel couldn't blame her. She was taking this rather well – she wasn't screaming bloody murder at least.

'What I didn't realise – what neither of us realised,' Quinn amended, nodding at Rashel, 'was that Hunter took Timmy with him for a reason.'

Rashel lifted her free hand a fraction, a request. Quinn fell silent, letting her take over. If anyone was going to tell Amelia what had happened, it was her. The older woman slowly turned to look at Rashel, dread growing in her face.

'Amelia, Timmy's alive,' she said gently. Amelia gave a strangled sob, but Rashel was ploughing on. She wasn't going to give her false hope. 'But when Hunter bit him, he wasn't just feeding from him. He was changing him into a vampire.'

Amelia started shaking her head, tears spilling over. She was sobbing openly now, but Rashel gritted her teeth, blinked away the sting in her eyes, and went on. It was her job, now, her duty.

'He's still four, Amelia. Timmy is still four.'

'How?' It was a wretched noise, almost a scream but for the lack of breath. Amelia looked up at the three of them wildly, mascara-heavy tears rolling down her face. 'How can he be – he's _seventeen_ , he should be...' She ran out of air, gasping for breath, bowing her head and pressing a hand to her mouth. 'My baby,' she whispered, little dark spots blooming on her skirt as tears dripped from her chin. 'Oh, Lord, my poor baby.'

Rashel glanced up at the silent movement in her peripheral vision. Quinn, rising from his seat and ducking out of the room, turning towards the kitchen. She turned her attention back to Amelia, flexing her fingers to keep the feeling in them, running her thumb over the mother's hand, but kept her awareness expanded outwards.

She caught the slight tilt of Thierry's head towards the door, as if he'd heard something.

Seconds later Quinn reappeared, several squares of kitchen roll in his hand. He crossed the room to Amelia, footsteps audible this time. She did a double-take upon hearing him and realising he had moved, but didn't draw back when he pressed the tissues into her hand. As he did he knelt next to the sofa, holding her eyes. 'I know this is all a lot to take in – believe me, I took the whole thing far worse than you have.' His voice was always soft, but rarely this soothing and honest.

It held Amelia captive as she swallowed and tried to get her breathing under control, swiping at her face with the kitchen paper.

'What's important now is that your son is alive, and he needs you. He's in a safe place now, but he's confused and traumatised by everything he's been through. We only found out he was alive and rescued him from Hunter a week ago. He needs his mom to help him adapt to his new life.' Quinn reached into his pocket for his wallet. Rashel had given him the pictures for safe keeping, lacking a bag that wasn't a rucksack and pockets deep enough to accommodate a wallet.

He drew two sheets of paper out. One was square and glossy – a photograph. The other was simple A4 paper, folded neatly in quarters.

Rashel saw Thierry's eyebrow quirk up. This had been her and Quinn's idea, to help convince Amelia. Timmy had agreed to it.

'He drew this a few days ago,' Quinn said, unfolding the paper and handing it to Amelia. She finally let go of Rashel's hand to take it, wiping her eyes with the tissues in her other hand so she could see.

When she looked down, her whole face softened with amazement. 'He... drew this?' She asked softly, looking between Rashel and Quinn. When they nodded she looked down again, gently tracing her own features with the tip of her finger. 'This is incredible.' She laughed suddenly, the sound welling up out of her. 'I still have some of his last drawings. They were... not as detailed,' she said, smiling fondly.

Rashel's lips twitched, and she met Quinn's eyes past Amelia.

He held up the photograph, blank-side forward. 'Do you want to see a picture of him?'

Amelia looked up sharply, hope building in her eyes. She gave a tiny nod, holding out a trembling hand for the photo. It was a simple Polaroid, taken an hour or so before Rashel and Quinn had left for the airport.

Timmy was beaming, his arm around a smiling Rashel as she crouched next to him in Thierry's garden. They were both squinting slightly in the bright sunlight His black hair was neatly combed, dressed in the best clothes he had on his insistence. Quinn had taken the photo.

Amelia gasped softly, clutching the photo as if it were Timmy himself. 'He looks just the same! He doesn't...' She trailed off, shaking her head. She didn't need to finish her sentence.

He doesn't look like a vampire.

She touched his smiling face tenderly, a watery smile on her face. 'Does he... does he want to see me?' She asked, as if she didn't dare hope for a positive answer.

Rashel patted her back. 'He misses you very much. He wanted to come today, but... we thought it would be safer to arrange a second meeting for you both.'

'Safer?' Amelia looked up, lost.

Rashel winced. Bad move.

Thierry stepped in, honest and gentle as ever. 'We didn't know how you would respond to the news. We didn't want to upset Timmy, should things have gone badly.'

'Badly? I don't...' She trailed off, confused and looking unsure of whether to be offended or not.

Quinn set a hand on her knee. 'That's not a reflection on you specifically, Mrs Davis. But I've had personal experience of parents reacting... poorly... to the news. I was the one who pushed for two separate meetings, because of my experience.'

Rashel raised an eyebrow at the white lie, but didn't interrupt. If it stopped Amelia from getting angry or upset, she'd take it.

'Everything we've done, we did to protect Timmy and keep him as safe and happy as possible. And I know seeing you again will make him overjoyed,' Quinn said, smoothly deflecting her away from her confusion.

It worked. Amelia gave him a stern look – one that said she knew full well what he was doing – but subsided, turning back to the photo of her son. 'Where is he?'

'At my home, in Vegas,' Thierry said.

Amelia nodded, took a deep breath, and looked up. Though her makeup was irreparably smeared and her hair was coming loose, her composure returned in full. 'Then if you'll all excuse me, I need to go to the bank.'

Rashel stared. Even the other two looked at a loss for a moment. 'The bank?' Rashel asked.

Amelia nodded, briskly smoothing her skirt and starting to fix her hair. 'To make a withdrawal. I hate to impose, Mr. Descouedres, but I am getting the next plane out to Vegas and I am going to see my son.' She said it in a tone that promised hell to pay should any of them object.

The three of them looked at each other. Rashel tilted her head ever so slightly towards Amelia, pointedly. She didn't care that Thierry was the second most powerful person alive – they had first class seats on the five pm flight to Vegas and she was going to make damn well sure Amelia got on it with them.

Thierry smiled, and Rashel narrowed her eyes at him. She got the sneaking suspicion he was ten steps ahead of her. He immediately proved her right.

'The bank trip won't be necessary, Mrs Davis. You are more than welcome to accompany us back on our flight, all expenses paid.'

Amelia was about to object – no doubt to insist she paid her share – when Rashel covered her hand. 'Trust me on this one; you'll want him to foot the bill unless you've got a few grand to spare,' she said wryly, smirking when Amelia's eyes widened.

'As it is a first class ticket, I insist I pay,' Thierry said firmly, but with telltale amusement. Behind Amelia, Quinn grinned broadly.

Amelia stopped arguing.


	4. Chapter 4

This is it, all. Short chapter, I'm afraid, but I hope you enjoy.

* * *

It had been a tense flight. The three hours in the air had given them plenty of time to explain the Night World to Amelia – after Thierry, Quinn and Nilsson had slowly eased the other first class passengers into sleep.

They had told her about Timmy's outbursts, about the lies Hunter had told him. Nothing had fazed her, but Rashel could see she was taking it absolutely seriously. Good. She wasn't just going out with blinkers on, thinking he'd be her little boy like before. She knew he had suffered, knew he would be different – and she was still adamant about reuniting with him.

'And Rob – someone's going to tell Rob, aren't they?' She'd asked anxiously, about twenty minutes before landing.

Thierry had leaned across their seats to take her hand. 'I promise you, as soon as we have you settled, I will personally go out and tell him myself. We didn't want to send a separate team out to him when that team has no connection with Timmy. We preferred to tell you at separate times, personally, rather than trust such a delicate situation to people unaccustomed to the case.'

Amelia had nodded, conceding to the practicality of the plan. 'I understand. I just think that he should be here...'

Rashel had gently bumped her shoulder. 'Give us a few days, and he will be. And having you there already should help him cope with the shock of finding out about the Night World.'

A flight attendant had passed through then, and they fell quiet. The thoughtful hush lasted until they landed, just after eight in the evening.

With Nilsson at the wheel, it was a swift, smooth drive back to the mansion. Rashel had warned Amelia that 'house' was a severe understatement, but that didn't stop the woman gaping at the opulent manor as they came up the driveway.

A few metres from the garage, Quinn turned to Thierry. 'Heads up – he knows we're back. He spotted the car through the window.'

Well, there went their chance to calmly control the situation. Improvisation it was.

Amelia stared at him, bewildered, until Quinn tapped the side of his head to remind her of their discussion. 'Telepathy. I figured it was best to keep a tab on Timmy until we were inside. Which was a good plan, since he's running for the front door as we speak.'

Amelia took a deep breath, and Rashel gave her an encouraging smile. 'Ready to meet him?'

The woman nodded with a tremulous smile on her face. 'I can't believe this is happening,' she confided in Rashel as they stepped out of the car.

Rashel smiled. 'It's a lot to take in. You're doing really well.'

They got as far as the end of the entrance hall before they heard the little footsteps pounding towards them.

Timmy skidded around the corner of the hallway, rubber soles squealing on the marble floor of the foyer. He was shouting before he'd even come into view. 'Rashel! What did she say? What did-' He stopped, staggering to a halt as he looked up from his feet and his eyes landed on Amelia.

Beside Rashel, Amelia gave a tiny gasp, one hand lifting to her mouth. She was staring at her son, and as Rashel watched the fine trembling returned, as did the too-bright gleam of tears in her eyes.

Timmy was no better; he looked suddenly very small and alone in the massive hall. He was fiddling with the hem of his T-shirt, staring at his mother with a pleading, desperate look, yet he didn't move. Too scared she'd turn and run, maybe. Or just waiting for a sign that this was real, that she was here and wanted him.

Then Amelia took an unsteady step forward, then another, and her arms opened.

Timmy's paralysis broke, and he ran for her.

Too fast – Rashel could see that straight away. Vampire-fast; hitting Amelia at that speed could seriously hurt her. She stepped forward, to absorb the impact and slow him down, but Quinn got there first without moving a muscle.

 _Slow down, kid! You'll hurt her._

Immediately, Timmy skidded down to a slower pace – still as fast as a human adult, but not the potentially damaging sprint he'd been in.

Amelia didn't seem to notice or care. She just dropped to one knee as he got within reach and swept him up as he threw himself into her arms. The force still rocked her back on her knee, but she was laughing, crying, breathless, and hugging him tight.

Timmy clung to her, arms and legs wrapped around her like he never intended to let go. He was sobbing and babbling through the tears. How he'd missed her, how he was sorry, how he loved her. Most of all, just 'Mommy'.

People were staring – Thierry's assistants and aides, people on the stairs – Rashel even spotted Ash sticking his head out of one of the corridors leading out of the foyer. No one seemed to care. Ash caught her eye over Amelia and Timmy's heads and gave her a smile and a thumbs up before vanishing again.

Rashel realised she was smiling. Not just smiling – beaming, almost on the verge of laughter out of sheer joy. She turned to Quinn, wanting to share this rare, wild elation – and found him watching her already with that simple, soft smile. He laughed softly and stepped closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Rashel leaned against him easily, an arm around his back as they both turned to watch Amelia and Timmy.

 _Look at what you did,_ Quinn thought, pride radiating off him.

Rashel shook her head. _I didn't do much. Thierry's the one who organised everything-_

 _And you're the one who gave him the idea to do it. You're the one who talked to Timmy, who explained things to him, who got him to cooperate. You're the one who told Amelia. If it wasn't for you, this would never have happened._ He paused, sensing she still wasn't fully convinced. _And it wasn't Thierry Timmy came running to, asking how things went. It was you. He knows you're the one that started all this._

Rashel sneaked a glance across at him.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a pointed look. _Accept credit where it's due for once. If we're going to be the fighting arm of Circle Daybreak – the ones keeping people safe and families together – you're going to be getting a lot of it. Better get used to the praise now._

Unable to stop the grin spreading, Rashel turned back to the happy reunion before them. _All right, you win. It does feel pretty good._

What really convinced her though, was as soon as Timmy and Amelia could bear to let go of each other, Timmy launched himself at Rashel's torso. Her arms snapped out automatically to catch him, and he buried his face in her shoulder, arms latching onto her in half-cling, half-hug. And as she sorted out the sound of him scrabbling against her for purchase and her hair being shoved against her face and ear, she caught the breathless, grateful little voice mumbling into her shirt.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you-'

Rashel hugged him tight, rocking him slightly from side to side. 'You're welcome,' she said, because she didn't think Timmy would stop until she said so.

What stopped her breath was Timmy drawing back, and seeing the adoration shining in his eyes. The exact same look he'd had twelve years ago.

Amelia being here wouldn't magically fix everything. Timmy would still have a difficult life, even after his father arrived a few days later – dazed, scared out of his wits, but cradling his son as though he was a newborn baby as soon as he saw him. They would still have to figure out a plan for the future – but right now, that future was so much brighter than Rashel could have ever hoped for, back on that yacht while the mansion burned behind them and Timmy sobbed in her arms.

They sheer joy in his face as he took his parents on a tour of the mansion, or as he showed off how fast he could run, or drew them picture after picture until they gave up and bought a massive cork board to hang in their room and pin them to. The way they stared at all the strange, vampiric things he could do – then shrugged them off and hugged him anyway, even though every fibre in their bodies must have been telling them to run whenever Timmy showed his fangs.

That's what mattered now.

* * *

 _Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws – Barbara Kingsolver._


End file.
